Summary: Harry's move to Gotham City changes his life in ways he never dreamed of and he begins to feel like he has finally started to truly live. However, all too soon an enemy from the past threatens his new found life, making Harry take up the mantle of hero once again to save the life of the man he loves.

Spoilers: Batman Begins the movie, though this is set sometime after. HP books 1- 7, but the epilogue is not a part of my personal canon. *g*Disclaimer: I don't claim to own any of this, so don't sue me.

AN: This story idea wouldn't leave me alone, so I am going to start posting it, but I can't promise how often I will update or that it will be completed. As of right now, the plot bunny for the story is very aggressive, but as this is my first fanfic I can't guarantee that everything will stay that way. Feedback is very much appreciated!

"Mione, I love you and I hate leaving you and everyone, but I need a change. I can't keep doing this," Harry replied as he put the last of his things into his magically enlarged trunk and walked to where Hermione sat on his bed, nervously playing with a loose string on her robe. "The press and the public are hounding me day and night; I can't go outside without having at least a couple reporters and fans accosting me. I want a normal life, where I can just have a regular job. I want a place where i'm just me… just Harry."

Hermione nodded her head and then rested it against his chest as a few tears fell. "I'm going to miss you. I don't think the three of us have ever been away from each for more than a few weeks since we started at Hogwarts… it's going to be different without you here."

"I know, but I'll only be a portkey or phone call away." Harry gave her a kiss on the forehead as he wrapped his arms around her. They held tight to each other silently, unable to say all the thoughts running through their heads.

No matter what Harry said, he knew his moving would change things irrevocably. For the better part of his life Harry had always had Hermione and Ron with him in every step of his life, there to walk beside him and take the journey with him. Now, he was not only leaving the home they had created together, but the country as well and moving halfway across the world to Gotham City. The destination wasn't anything more than a means to an end, chosen in the spur of the moment after he had made the decision to leave the UK. It was the result of the move that drove him… the possibility that he would have the chance to have a normal life away from the prying eyes of the wizarding public's number one celebrity.

It broke his heart that he had to leave his friends and family and move so far away to get that peace of mind, but if he was ever going to be able to make something of his life and possibly find someone to love, he knew it had to be away from the wizarding world. Their judgments and expectations; their opinion that Harry, having defeated Voldemort, was now somehow subject to the wizarding public's censure and approval… His life was no longer his own and Harry couldn't life like that any more.

From down stairs, Harry heard the front door open and slam close and then loud shrieking and cursing as Sirius' mother began screaming about mudbloods and blood traitors defiling the House of Black.

"Oh shut it you old biddy, one of these I'm gonna find a spell to get you off of that wall and then it's the attic for you… yep that's right, an eternity of watching paint peel and nothing else!" Ron yelled as he stomped up the stairs.

Harry laughed as Ron walked into his room and flopped down beside them on the bed. "Thought you might miss sending me off, my portkey leaves in a half hour."

"Yeah, Dawlish is a wanker. I told him I had plans a week ago and he still sent me to talk to an informant who has ties to the Neo-DeathEaters, even knowing it would take most of the day" Ron groused as he looked around Harry's bedroom. "Finished packing? Doesn't look like you took much."

"Most of the stuff in here was Sirius'." Harry said with a shrug.

After the war the three of them had opted to take special exit exams to graduate instead of attending Hogwarts for their final year. Half of their class had taken the same choice as well, seeing as Hogwarts at the time had been closed for reconstruction after the final battle destroyed over half of the castle.

With the weight of the war no longer on their shoulders the trio had taken up residence in Grimmauld Place ready to make their entrance into adult life. Two years later, Ron was working as an Auror for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Hermione had taken a position in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in hopes of getting better rights for all magical creatures.

Harry however, hadn't done much of anything in the last two years. He still had no clue what he wanted to do with his life except that he no longer had the desire to be an Auror. The fascination he once had with being an Auror had been extinguished by years of fighting in the war, watching countless friends and family die and finally by taking the lives of more DeathEaters than he could count and one not-so-immortal, power hungry dark lord.

He'd helped out George at the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes shop for a while as the lone twin had adjusted to a life without Fred. But Harry was horrible at the helping with inventions and hadn't been able to work in the front of the shop without causing a small riot. The one and only time he had, they had to call Aurors in to disburse the large crowd that had packed into and around the shop. The shop had been so packed that displays had been knocked down, merchandise ruined… George had thought it was funny and hadn't minded, but Harry knew it wasn't fair to him; sales had been down that day as they had been too busy trying to corral the people instead of selling merchandise. Harry being there long term would have just caused more problems than Harry's help would have been worth. So Harry had helped George find a trustworthy employee to run the front for him and then had gracefully bowed out.

It had been that incident that had started to show Harry that his life would never be his own in the magical world. Two years after the end of the war and Harry still couldn't get a break from the title of The-Boy-Who-Defeated-The-Dark-Lord. He couldn't even date anyone… When the war had ended Ginny and he had resumed their relationship, but Harry had slowly come to the realization that they weren't right for each other. He loved her and always would, but that love was more for a sister than a lover. So they had split amicably. He had tried to date since then, but he ended up going out on dates with people who either hero worshiped him or couldn't handle the constant attention from the wizarding public.

Things had spiraled even more when he realized he was attracted to men and had gone on his first date with a wizard. Homosexuality wasn't unheard of in the wizarding world, but it wasn't completely accepted either. The public had gotten worse since then, some had made it their mission to set him back on the right path, and others wanted him to be the poster boy for their pro-homosexuality campaign. Finally, Harry had had enough when a wizard that he had been dating for a few weeks was severely injured when a disgruntled "fan" had thought to set Harry back on the straight and narrow path. It was that night that Harry had decided that he couldn't live like that anymore.

"Gonna miss you, Harry. Doesn't seem right, you being so far away from us." Ron said as he gave Harry a frown. "But I get why you're leaving; we all do. We're just gonna miss you."

Harry nodded his head and then grabbed both of his best friends in a tight hug. "I'm going to miss you guys too."

They all stayed in the hug for a few minutes, all of them reluctant to let go. The war had brought them closer than they had ever been, forging a bond that Harry relied on in life. He wasn't sure how he would get by without them right there beside him every day.

"We'll keep your room nice and clean for you encase you decide to visit… though it doesn't seem right that we are staying here without you." Hermione stated as she pulled back a smile on her lips.

"Mione, we aren't going over that again. Just because I inherited the house doesn't mean this place is more mine than yours; you've lived here for two years, helped renovate it… it's just as much yours as it is mine. Besides with me gone it would have just sat empty without you two. I want you to stay." Harry said with a stern look that brokered no further discussion.

"Fine." Hermione replied with a huff.

"Good, we'll I better be off, the portkey leaves soon." Harry sighed as he shrunk his trunk and kissed Hermione on the temple and hugged her one last time, then Ron too. "Love you guys. Once I get settled I'll get a floo set up and let you guys know."

"Okay… be safe and if you need anything or want to come back, we'll be here." Hermione said, her voice trembling just a little bit.

"Kay."

Ron laughed as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend from behind. "Mione, it's not like we won't ever see him again."

"I know… it just feels weird us being apart after all this time." Hermione explained with a sniffle and then looked up at Harry. "Go on, I'll be fine… just be safe."